1920 QUESTIONNAIRE

(23′′ X 16′′, printed on two sides, space for 50 entries on

each side; reverse side was identical except that lines were

numbered 50 to 100). Similar schedules were printed for

use in Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico (in Spanish), but had

space for only 25 entries on each side (23’’X10 1/2′′).

A population schedule for ‘‘Military and Naval Population,

Etc., Abroad’’ was identical in size and content with the

principal schedule except for a simplified occupation

inquiry and the additional requests for rank and for the U.S.

address of each person enumerated. There was no Indian

schedule for 1920.

Instructions to Enumerators

Except for detailed rules for house-to-house canvassing and

for applying the ‘‘usual place of abode’’ criterion (‘‘the place

persons may be said to live or belong, or the place which is

their home. . .where a person regularly sleeps’’) in determining whether or not to list someone, the enumerators’

instructions for 1920 were substantially the same as for

1910. Age for children under 5 years was to be reported in

complete years and months.

58 Measuring America

U.S. Census Bureau
Instructions to Enumerators

These generally followed the directions given in 1910 and

1920. College students, except cadets at Annapolis and

West Point, were to be enumerated at their homes, but student nurses were to be counted where they were being

trained. Veteran status (items 30 and 31) excluded persons

who served only during peacetime. The war or expedition

was to be entered by an abbreviation: World War, WW;

Spanish-American War, Sp; Civil War, Civ; Philippine insurrection, Phil; Boxer rebellion, Box; or Mexican expedition, Mex.

There were specific instructions for reporting race. A person

of mixed White and Negro blood was to be returned as

Negro, no matter how small the percentage of Negro blood;

someone part Indian and part Negro also was to be listed as

Negro unless the Indian blood predominated and the person was generally accepted as an Indian in the community.

A person of mixed White and Indian blood was to be

returned as an Indian, except where the percentage of

Indian blood was very small or where he or she was

regarded as White in the community. For persons reported

as American Indian in column 12 (color or race), columns

19 and 20 were to be used to indicate the degree of Indian

blood and the tribe, instead of the birthplace of father and

mother.

In order to obtain separate figures for Mexicans, it was

decided that all persons born in Mexico, or having parents

born in Mexico, who were not definitely White, Negro,

Indian, Chinese, or Japanese, would be returned as Mexicans (Mex).

Any mixture of White and some other race was to be

reported according to the race of the parent who was not

White; mixtures of colored races were to be listed according

to the father’s race, except Negro-Indian (discussed above).

1930 QUESTIONNAIRE—POPULATION

(23 3/4’’ x 16 1/2’’, printed on both sides, space for 50

entries on each side; reverse side was identical except that

lines were numbered 50 to 100

Measuring America 59

U.S. Census Bureau
1930 QUESTIONNAIRE—CENSUS OF UNEMPLOYMENT

(18′′ X 11 1/2′′, printed on two sides, space for 30 entries

on each side, reverse side identical except that lines were

numbered 31 to 60, yellow stock.)

60 Measuring America

U.S. Census Bureau
1930 QUESTIONNAIRE—‘‘SUPPLEMENTAL SCHEDULE

FOR INDIAN POPULATION’’

(10 1/2′′ X 8′′, printed on two sides, green stock.)

Measuring America 61

U.S. Census Bureau
1940 QUESTIONNAIRE—POPULATION

(23 3/4′′ X 18 1/2′′, printed on two sides, space for 40

entries on each side plus two additional lines for the

5-percent sample questions; reverse side was identical

except that lines were numbered 41 to 80, and the

sample-line numbers were different.) Similar, but less

detailed forms were used outside the continental United

States.

62 Measuring America

U.S. Census Bureau
1940 Questionnaire—Population

Measuring America 63

U.S. Census Bureau
Instructions to Enumerators

In order to make the census as complete as possible, enumerators were provided with several kinds of schedules

(not reproduced here) for use in obtaining information

about nonresidents who might not be reported at their

homes, transients, new occupants of then vacant living

quarters, absent households, etc. A ‘‘household’’ was

defined in terms of ‘‘one set of cooking facilities or housekeeping arrangements.’’

With regard to race, the only change from 1930 was that

Mexicans were to be listed as White unless they were definitely Indian or some race other than White.

There were detailed rules for completing the employment

portion of the schedule (cols. 21-31) and for coding column 30 on the basis of the occupation entered in column

28.

Veteran status (col. 39) was extended to peacetime service

as well as during wars and expeditions.

Enumerators carried a supply of a separate report form,

P-16, which persons unwilling to give income information

verbally could use. The completed form was to be inserted

in an accompanying envelope, sealed, and given to the

census taker for mailing.

It should be noted that questions 35 through 50 were

asked only of a 5-percent sample of the population.

64 Measuring America

U.S. Census Bureau
1940 QUESTIONNAIRE—CENSUS OF OCCUPIED

DWELLINGS

(23 1/2′′ X 19,′′ printed on two sides, space for 15 entries

on each side, reverse side identical except that the lines

were numbered 16 to 30; yellow stock)

Measuring America 65

U.S. Census Bureau
1940 QUESTIONNAIRE—CENSUS OF VACANT

DWELLINGS

(16′′ X 19,′′ printed on two sides, space for 15 entries on

each side, reverse side identical excerpt that lines were

numbered 16 to 30, yellow stock.) ‘‘Color or race of head’’

and ‘‘Number of persons in household’’ (items 3 and 4 on

‘‘Occupied-Dwelling Schedule’’) did not appear on the

‘‘Vacant-Dwelling Schedule;’’ items 8-17 were the same as

items 8-17 on the ‘‘Occupied Dwelling Schedule;’’ items

18-31 which appeared on the ‘‘Occupied Dwelling Schedule’’ were omitted from the ‘‘Vacant-Dwelling Schedule.’’

Instructions to Enumerators

The term ‘‘structure’’ was roughly comparable with ‘‘dwelling house’’ used in previous censuses, and 1940 ‘‘occupied dwelling units’’ could be equated with ‘‘homes’’ in

1930. The 1940 housing census, however, included

vacant, habitable dwelling units and structures. It

excluded units occupied by quasi households (defined as

10 or more lodgers) and various types of institutional and

other places (later called ‘‘group quarters’’) not generally

considered as part of the U.S. housing market. The dwelling unit itself was defined as ‘‘the living quarters occupied

by, or intended for occupancy by, one household.’’

The instructions for answering the questions on the occupied and vacant dwelling schedules were fairly simple,

and in many cases were spelled out on the forms themselves. Item 11 (state of repair) required the enumerator to

report the structure as ‘‘needing major repairs’’ when parts

of it, such as floors, roof, walls, or foundations required

repair or replacement, ‘‘the continued neglect of which

would impair the soundness of the structure and create a

hazard to its safety as a place of residence.’’

1950 QUESTIONNAIRE—POPULATION

The basic schedule, form P1, was a white 19′′ X 22′′ sheet,

printed in green ink on both sides. The front included

space for population information for 30 persons, with a

separate line for each person enumerated. (The reverse

side, the housing schedule, contained spaces for information for 12 dwelling units that housed the persons enumerated on the population side of the form.) Questions 15

through 20 were asked only for persons 14 years of age

and over.

Questions at the bottom of the schedule (21-33c) were

asked for the one person in five whose name fell on a

sample line that was indicated in black. (There were five

printings to vary the sample lines.) The person whose

name fell on the last sample line was also asked the additional questions from 34 on. Of the sample items, Nos. 29

on applied only to persons 14 years of age and over.

1950 Questionnaire—Population

66 Measuring America

U.S. Census Bureau
1950 Questionnaire—Population

Measuring America 67

U.S. Census Bureau
1950 Questionnaire—Population

68 Measuring America

U.S. Census Bureau
1950 Questionnaire—Population

Measuring America 69

U.S. Census Bureau
Instructions to Enumerators

Changes from 1940 were few. Special pains were taken in

the 1950 census, however, to distinguish among institutions, households, and quasi households (five or more

nonrelatives of the head, other than employees).

College students were to be enumerated where they lived

while attending school, rather than where their homes

were located. Members of the Armed Forces who slept off

post would be counted where they slept rather than where

they were stationed.

The instructions continued to allow anyone to be designated as head of the household for relationship purposes,

but if a woman was listed as head and her husband was

present, he was reclassified as the head when the completed schedule was reviewed in the office. (At the time,

the number of such cases was relatively small.)

A ‘‘family’’ was distinguished from a ‘‘household’’ in that

the family represented a group of two or more persons

related by blood, marriage, or adoption. A household

could contain one or more families, or none, but would

occupy only one dwelling unit (quarters with separate

cooking equipment or (new for 1950) a separate

entrance.)

As in 1940, there was a separate form a respondent could

use to report income. However, this was now a selfmailing piece (form P6) which the householder was asked

to complete and post (rather than hand it to the enumerator).

A supplemental schedule (form P8) was used to obtain

additional information on Indian reservations. In addition

to entering each person’s name as it appeared on the

regular schedule, the enumerator wrote in any other

name(s) by which that person was known.

70 Measuring America

U.S. Census Bureau
Instructions to Enumerators—Housing

The census takers continued to define ‘‘nondwelling-unit

quarters’’ (item 3) as they had in 1940, including as dwelling units those places with fewer than 10 lodgers. However, in subsequent office coding, any residence with 5 to

9 lodgers was reclassified as a nondwelling unit and

excluded from the housing inventory. Vacant trailers,

tents, boats, etc., were not enumerated.

There were detailed instructions for classifying various

facilities (such as plumbing), equipment, and rooms for

inclusion in the census.

In item 7 (condition of unit), the enumerator had to decide

whether or not the place was ‘‘dilapidated,’’ which, in conjunction with the information on plumbing facilities (items

10-13) would provide an indicator of housing quality. The

reference manual had a special illustrated section devoted

to item 7 and training was augmented with a filmstrip.

With this background, ‘‘dilapidated’’ or ‘‘not dilapidated’’

was to be checked without asking the householder about

the condition of the unit. The decision was to be made on

the basis of observation, looking for critical and minor

housing deficiencies or for the adequacy of the original

construction. A dilapidated unit, the census taker was

told, was ‘‘below the generally accepted minimum standard for housing.’’ It failed to protect the occupants from

the elements or endangered their health or safety. It could

be dilapidated because it had been neglected or because

the original construction had been inadequate in the first

place. A unit was not to be reported as ‘‘dilapidated’’ simply because it was old or dingy, nor was it ‘‘not dilapidated’’ because it happened to be freshly painted or

shingled over.

Items 14 and 15 were five different sets of questions, and

each household answered the set found on the line on

which it was enumerated (thus constituting a 20-percent

sample for these items).

1950 QUESTIONNAIRE—HOUSING

Measuring America 71

U.S. Census Bureau
1960 QUESTIONNAIRE

The responses supplied by householders to the inquiries

shown below were transcribed by enumerators to

machine-readable forms, 14 1/8′′ X 17 1/4,′′ which were

the official 1960 schedules.

Instructions

For the population inquiries, questions P3-P7 were asked

for all persons, but the other items (P8ff.) were collected

on a 25-percent basis. In 1960, the housing unit or the

group quarters (the dwelling or nondwelling units in 1950)

was the sampling unit, so that everyone living in that unit

fell in the sample. There were special procedures for sampling persons in institutions and similar facilities, however. A unit with five or more lodgers or six unrelated individuals (one of whom was designated as head) was

classified as ‘‘group quarters.’’

The month of birth (P6) was collected for everyone, but

only the quarter was transcribed to the official schedule.

The instructions for completing P5 (race or color) by

observation directed that Puerto Ricans, Mexicans, or

other persons of Latin descent would be classified as

‘‘White’’ unless they were definitely Negro, Indian, or some

other race. Southern European and Near Eastern nationalities also were to be considered White. Asian Indians were

to be classified as ‘‘Other,’’ and ‘‘Hindu’’ written in.

The husband of a married couple was always to be listed

as the head of the household if he was present.

Housing questions H3-H16 were asked for all housing

units, and the others (H17H46) on either a 25-, 20-, or

5-percent sample basis. (The 20- and 5-percent samples

were subdivisions of the 25-percent selection.)

Questions on the presence of a kitchen sink and electric

lighting, and the type of refrigerator asked in 1950 were

omitted. A number of new sample items were added, however, mainly on facilities and equipment, and detailed

instructions were supplied.

In question H6 (condition), the category ‘‘Not dilapidated’’

was subdivided into ‘‘sound’’ (in good repair) and ‘‘deteriorating’’ (in need of repair), and the enumerator was given a

list of ‘‘slight,’’ ‘‘intermediate,’’ and ‘‘critical’’ defects by

which a determination could be made.

As before, vacant trailers, boats, etc., were not enumerated.

72 Measuring America

U.S. Census Bureau
1960 Questionnaire

Measuring America 73

U.S. Census Bureau
1960 Questionnaire

74 Measuring America

U.S. Census Bureau
1960 Questionnaire

Measuring America 75

U.S. Census Bureau
1960 Questionnaire

76 Measuring America

U.S. Census Bureau